Govt fails to curb cement prices
New Delhi, May 16
The government seems to have failed to rein in cement companies, which have politely declined to bring down prices despite government giving them an ultimatum of three days on Friday to slash prices to a reasonable level.

SEZs to generate employment for
5 lakh persons
Ludhiana, May 16
Nearly 175 special economic zones (SEZs) will come up across the country with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years, generating employment opportunities for five lakh persons, a senior government official has said.

Gas pipeline from Myanmar to bypass Bangladesh
New Delhi, May 16
With Dhaka putting pre-conditions for allowing passage of a gas pipeline for import of gas from Myanmar, India plans to bypass Bangladesh altogether and instead lay a line through North-Eastern states.

Boeing to pay $615 m penalty for scam
Chicago, May 16
Moving to settle lingering issues involving its ethical conduct, Boeing Co has announced a tentative agreement with the US government that calls for it to pay $615 million to end a three-year Justice Department investigation into reported defence contracting scandals.

A model poses with an item of antique traditional jewellery during a press conference in Bangalore on Tuesday. The conference was held to announce collaboration between a leading vendor and jewellery historian Usha Balakrishnan. — AFP

Ms Athena Dogias (right) is helped by Brendan Torazzi into a sleep pod in a central business district office building in Sydney on Tuesday. Busy workers are invited to put their feet up for 20 minutes to rejuvenate and relax in style while listening to music in the dome-shaped pod. — AP/PTI

India’s per capita debt over Rs 25,000
New Delhi, May 16
Asserting that the debt burden of the country was sustainable, the government said today it was on course to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.07 per cent during 2005-06.

Gold sheds Rs 260
New Delhi, May 16
The gold prices tumbled on the bullion market today on brisk selling by stockists and a weak overseas trend and closed lower by Rs 260 at Rs 10,270 per 10 gm.

SEBI proposes new fee structure
Mumbai, May 16
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today invited suggestions from brokers and members of trading and clearing houses to its proposals to introduce a new fee structure in the cash and derivatives segment in the market.

Ansal’s net up by 238 pc
New Delhi, May 16
Real estate providers Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd today announced registering an increase of 238 per cent in its net profit at Rs 2,059.55 lakh for the year ended March 31, 2006, as against Rs 609.12 lakh for the financial year 2004-05.

A model presents Sony’s new handheld personal computer Vaio in Tokyo on Tuesday. Sony said the new palm-top computer which worked on Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system was equipped with a touch screen and a small built-in keyboard. — Reuters

Sony to unveil Blu-ray laptop
San Jose, May 16
Sony Corp will release the first laptop capable of playing, editing and recording next-generation, high-definition videos in the Blu-ray DVD format.

New Honda plant
Tokyo, May 16
Honda Motor Co. plans to spend about 50 billion yen ($456 million) to build a sixth plant in North America to help meet growing demand, the Nihon Keizai business daily reported today.

Package for HP should not be extended: CII
Shimla, May 16
Mr Adesh Gupta, the newly elected Chairman of the CII (Northern Region), today categorically stated that the period of the special industrial package to Himachal Pradesh should not be extended beyond March 2007.

BANK ACCOUNT
SBoP posts profit of Rs 303.11 cr
Chandigarh, May 16
The State Bank of Patiala (SBoP) has posted a net profit of Rs 303.11 crore in the 2005-06 as against Rs 287. 07 crore in 2004-05.

New Delhi, May 16
The government seems to have failed to rein in cement companies, which have politely declined to bring down prices despite government giving them an ultimatum of three days on Friday to slash prices to a reasonable level.

Undeterred by the government’s deadline, the companies are trying to evade the issue by claiming that they are not able to deter the rising prices because of wide differences in prices in different regions. Meanwhile, the government has decided to reduce prices for Central Government supplies by 5 per cent.

Allaying aside the claims of cement manufacturers that about 50 per cent increase in cement prices is due to increase in transport costs, Mr S.P. Singh, Coordinator, Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRI) said, “Cement prices have increased from about Rs 130 a bag (50 kg) in October 2005 to around Rs 210 a bag, rising by Rs 80 a bag though the per bag transport costs have increased by Rs 2 to Rs 3 for different cement producers.”

Alleging a cartel of cement producers in the market, he said, “Cement manufacturers are misleading the public and government by claiming that they have not control over prices. But the fact is that three-four producers, including Gujarat Ambuja, ACC and Grasim are controlling over 60 per cent of the market, leading to spurt in prices.”

Cement producers have given an assurance to the government that they would not increase the prices now onwards, and have asked the government to give more time to solve the crisis.

On Friday, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had said if cement prices keep increasing the industry could face an export ban.

The cement manufacturers have told the government that they would expand capacities and supply more cement to the domestic market. Currently 10 million tonnes of cement is exported annually.

The cement is selling at Rs 225-240 for a 50-kg bag in the country's largest market Mumbai and around Rs 210 a bag in Delhi and around Rs 203 a bag in Punjab, Haryana. But in South it is selling in the range of Rs 175-190.

The industry sources said after burning its fingers on the reservation issue, government is unlikely to bring cement under the Essential Commodities Act which would be seen as "too anti-free market."

New Delhi, May 16
The European Union today made it clear that Mittal Steel’s bid to takeover rival Arcelor would be decided on the basis of business and competition and not on nationality.

“Let me assure you that the issue of nationality will not have any relevance in this context and only business and competition considerations will be considered,” European Union’s Ambassador to India Francisco da Camara Gomes said at a seminar on “Merger and Acquisitions in the EU-Opportunities for India Inc” organised by the CII here.

He said the Mittal-Arcelor case was being examined under the merger regulation, like many other market investigations across Europe, which did not stipulate Mittal to seek prior permission before acquiring the shares.

Mr Gomes said that any decision based on nationality would be annulled by the Court of First Instance, if it appeared to have been taken on grounds other than competition as a competition policy was the core of the European integration.

The core of the EU’s competition was surveillance of abuse of dominant positions, monitoring of state aids, mergers and acquisitions, he said.

AFP adds from Brussels: The Belgium Government has declined to take sides in Mittal Steel’s takeover battle for rival
Arcelor, judging that both firms had “viable” plans for the future.

Although Luxembourg, Madrid and Paris have spoken out against the deal, Belgium’s Federal and Regional Governments were careful not to take a stance and sought outside advice from investment bank Lazard on whether to support Mittal’s takeover or to back Arcelor’s plan to remain independent.

After studying Lazard’s report with other top Belgian officials, the Minister-President of Belgium’s southern Wallon region, Elio De
Rupo, said on Monday that “both plans are credible at the industrial level but we still have questions for Mittal and Arcelor”.

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt’s office issued a statement, saying that Arcelor had a “credible strategy based on developing high value- added products”.

“Given the consolidation currently under way in the steel sector, Mittal’s strategy represents a credible industrial project based on a global outlook,” the statement added.

Mittal, the biggest steelmaker worldwide in terms of volume, has struggled to convince other governments and Arcelor’s management of the merits of the deal, which is currently worth around $28 billion.

Ludhiana, May 16
Nearly 175 special economic zones (SEZs) will come up across the country with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years, generating employment opportunities for five lakh persons, a senior government official has said.

"We have received 175 new proposals for the development of SEZs in the country. And we expect that these SEZs would involve an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore, besides generating employment of 5 lakh persons in next five years," said Director-General of Export Promotion Council for export- oriented units (EOUs) and special economic zones (SEZs) L.B. Singhal.

The maximum number of proposals were received for development of IT and related industries, he revealed.

Mr Singhal, who was here to attend a management development programme organised by Sportking Group, said in Punjab and Chandigarh, seven SEZs are proposed to be set up with active participation of private companies.

The focus of the programme on the concluding day remained on the Special Economics Zone Act 2005, special economics zone rules 2006, new initiatives in the foreign trade policy, performance of the textile and clothing sector and corporate social responsibility in international trade .

Mr Singhal gave a presentation on comparative advantages of establishing units in SEZs.

Mr K.K. Jalan, Secretary-General, AEPC, in his valedictory address, briefed about initiatives in the textile sector being considered by the Ministry of Textiles.

New Delhi, May 16
With Dhaka putting pre-conditions for allowing passage of a gas pipeline for import of gas from Myanmar, India plans to bypass Bangladesh altogether and instead lay a line through North-Eastern states.

“No progress has been achieved (in getting Dhaka’s nod for the Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipeline) as Bangladsh wants the inclusion of certain bilateral issues in the trilateral MoU, which is not acceptable to India,” Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said today.

Dhaka, among other things, is demanding correction of the trade balance between India and Bangladesh.

“In view of the above, India is pursuing the option of a gas pipeline from Myanmar through the North-Eastern states of India bypassing Bangladesh,” he said in the Rajya Sabha.

Recently, GAIL got a feasibility report of the project prepared, he said, adding that discussions with the Myanmar side on the project were continuing.

India wants to import gas found in the offshore A-1 Block and potential volumes in block A-3 (ONGC Videsh Ltd and GAIL together hold a 30 per cent stake in the two blocks) through an onland pipeline. The route being pursued was linking the Kaladan river in Myanmar to Mizoram.
— PTI

Chung, 68, has been in custody since his arrest on April 28 on charges of embezzling about 100 billion won ($106 million) in company money to create a slush fund and of breach of trust for allegedly incurring about 300 billion won ($320 million) in damages to the company.

Chicago, May 16
Moving to settle lingering issues involving its ethical conduct, Boeing Co has announced a tentative agreement with the US government that calls for it to pay $615 million to end a three-year Justice Department investigation into reported defence contracting scandals.

While agreeing to the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a military contractor, Boeing will not face criminal charges or have to admit wrongdoing under the settlement. It also avoids having the matters aired in court.

The two sides said the company agreed to pay $565 million to resolve potential civil claims and what was described as a "monetary penalty" of $50 million, along with accepting responsibility for its employees' conduct and making additional commitments regarding compliance with ethics rules.

Chicago-based Boeing has been under investigation for allegedly improperly obtaining thousands of pages of secret documents from Lockheed in the late 1990s, using some of them to help win a competition for government rocket-launching business, and separately for recruiting former Air Force official Darleen Druyun while she was still overseeing contracts involving prospective Boeing deals.

The government stripped Boeing of about $1 billion worth of rocket launches for its improper use of the Lockheed documents.
— AP

New Delhi, May 16
The RBI, in consultation with the government has appointed a committee for setting out a road map for fuller capital account convertibility.

The committee, chaired by Mr S.S. Tarapore, will review the experience of various measures of capital account liberalisation in India and examine implications of fuller capital account convertibility on monetary and exchange rate management, financial markets and financial system.

The committee is expected to submit its report by July 31 to the RBI, said Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of State for Finance in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

The committee will provide a comprehensive medium-term operational framework, with sequencing and timing for fuller capital account convertibility taking into account the implications and progress in fiscal and revenue deficits of both Centre and states.

New Delhi, May 16
Asserting that the debt burden of the country was sustainable, the government said today it was on course to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.07 per cent during 2005-06.

“The debt burden of the country is sustainable. We have the capacity to service the debt. I think our country will continue to grow at a rapid pace,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.

Replying to supplementaries during question hour, he said the revenue deficit was expected to decline to 0.7 per cent during 2005-06.

The Centre had targeted to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3 per cent by 2008-09 and to wipe out the revenue deficit by that time, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Mr Chidambaram disclosed that every Indian is burdened with loan amounting to over Rs 25,000, which totals to 4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and attracts an interest of Rs 2,09,094 crore.

The per capita burden of government liabilities, consisting of the Central and state governments, of both internal and external variety was Rs 25,723 in 2005-2006, Mr Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha during the question hour.

The Central Government will have to pay Rs 1,39,823 crore as interest on loans in 2006-07, he said.

New Delhi, May 16
The gold prices tumbled on the bullion market today on brisk selling by stockists and a weak overseas trend and closed lower by Rs 260 at Rs 10,270 per 10 gm.

Similar weak conditions were noticed in silver, as the metal for ready delivery nosedived by Rs.1600 at Rs.19,700 per kilo while weekly-based delivery melt by Rs.1,330 at Rs20,620 per kilo. Silver coins also toppled down by Rs1500 at Rs.23,000 for buying and Rs.23,200 for selling for 100 pieces.

Standard gold and ornaments fell further by Rs 260 each at Rs 10,270 and Rs 10,020 per 10
gram respectively. Sovereign also quoted lower by Rs 50 at Rs 8050 per piece of 8 gm.— PTI

Mumbai, May 16
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today invited suggestions from brokers and members of trading and clearing houses to its proposals to introduce a new fee structure in the cash and derivatives segment in the market.

The three proposals formulated by the D C Anjaria committee set up by the market regulator relate to new brokers in the cash segment, existing and new brokers in the derivatives segment and existing brokers in the cash segment who have already paid or are paying fees for one or more blocks of five financial years, a SEBI release said today.

From its earlier recommendation of fee at Rs 100 per Rs 1-crore of turnover for new brokers in the cash segment, the committee has proposed its reduction to Rs 20 as brokerages have dipped in view of growing competition.

For the existing and new brokers (trading and clearing members) in the derivatives segment, the Anjaria committee has recommended upward revision of fee from Rs 10 to Rs 50 per Rs 1-crore of turnover in a phased manner beginning with Rs 20 per Rs 1-crore.
— UNI

New Delhi, May 16
Real estate providers Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd today announced registering an increase of 238 per cent in its net profit at Rs 2,059.55 lakh for the year ended March 31, 2006, as against Rs 609.12 lakh for the financial year 2004-05.

The turnover of the company rose by 51 per cent at Rs 13,045.92 lakh in 2005-06 as compared to Rs 8,625.37 lakh in 2004-05.
— UNI

San Jose, May 16
Sony Corp will release the first laptop capable of playing, editing and recording next-generation, high-definition videos in the Blu-ray DVD format.

It said today the new VAIO AR Premium model would be available this summer for $3,500. Besides the Blu-ray DVD drive, the notebook computer features a 17-inch display, an integrated TV tuner, and Microsoft Corp’s Windows Media Centre Edition operating system.
— AP

Shimla, May 16
Mr Adesh Gupta, the newly elected Chairman of the CII (Northern Region), today categorically stated that the period of the special industrial package to Himachal Pradesh should not be extended beyond March 2007.

Interacting with mediapersons here, he said the purpose of the package had been well served as the hillstate had already attracted investment to the tune of Rs 17,000 crore.

He said emphasis should be on the development of entire region, for which the CII had identified priority areas under its "Nirman North". There was a need for policy reform in labour, power and taxation at the level of states, besides creation of a common economic zone, he said.

Elaborating on vision of the CII for a common economic zone in the North, Mr Gupta stated that abolition of multiple tax structures, free movement of goods and sharing of best practices across various states would create new synergies across the region.

Chandigarh, May 16
The State Bank of Patiala (SBoP) has posted a net profit of Rs 303.11 crore in the 2005-06 as against Rs 287. 07 crore in 2004-05.

Mr Yogesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, SBoP, said the banks business crossed Rs 55,000 crore, with Rs 33,479. 43 crore deposits and Rs 22,499.43 crore of advances. He said the gross NPA ratio had been brought down to 2.41 per cent, from 4.13 per cent last year, while the net NPA ratio had been brought down to 0.99 per cent, as compared to 1.23 per cent in the previous year.

Earning per share of Rs 100 increased by Rs 65 to Rs 1225, and the book value of share jumped to Rs 8,915 (from Rs 8,260). The bank has proposed a dividend of 500 per cent.

Kotak Mahindra Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has posted a 50.54 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 34.73 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, as compared to Rs 23.07 crore for the same quarter in financial year 2004-05.

The total income grew 71.07 per cent to Rs 293.44 crore for the fourth quarter during the year 2005-06 from Rs 171.53 crore in the corresponding quarter in the year 2004-05. The Board has recommended a dividend of Re 0.60 on shares of Rs 10 each (6 per cent), the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

For the fiscal 2005-06, the bank has posted a net profit after tax of Rs 118.23 crore as compared to Rs 84.89 crore for the year 2004-05.

The total income for the year 2005-06 stood at Rs 936.95 crore as compared to Rs 552.73 crore in the financial year 2004-05.

The Group’s consolidated profit after tax was Rs 518.10 crore for the quarter ended March 31 as compared to Rs 64.27 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005. For 2005-06 the group’s consolidated profit after tax was Rs 729.74 crore as compared to Rs 170.90 crore for 2004-05.
—TNS, PTI

Salora tie-up with two cos
Mumbai, May 16
Salora International Ltd today said it had entered into a joint venture and shareholders agreement with Hong Kong-based Riverstone (HK) Ltd and Japan-based A and 0 Engineering Company Ltd. As per the agreement, a joint venture company would be formed in India for manufacturing, selling and exporting deflection yoke for TV and components industry, the manufacturer and exporters of colour picture tubes said. Deflection Yoke is designed for use in conjunction with picture tubes in television and monitors to provide sharp and fine convergence without distortion. — PTI

Hindalco hikes prices
New Delhi, May 16
Hindalco Industries Limited today raised the aluminium prices by more than Rs 9,000 per metric tonne to adjust to LME,” Hindalco sources said. The company raised the prices of aluminium for the second time this month after the metal reached its 17-year-high in LME. Earlier, the company raised its prices on May 11 and its demand has shot up primarily due to its increasing demand from China and USA.— PTI

Dabur Pharma to raise $25 m
Mumbai, May 15
Dabur Pharma Ltd, a part of healthcare major Dabur India Ltd, said today it would raise $25 million by way of shares or other securities. The Board today approved raising the amount through the issue of shares, fully convertible debentures (FCD), partially convertible debentures(PCD) to qualified institutional buyers(QIBs), the New Delhi-based company said. A dividend of Re 0.20 on shares of Re 1 each (20 per cent) has also been recommended, to be paid on or after July 19.
— PTI

Spice Telecom
New Delhi, May 16
B.K. Modi-promoted Spice Telecom is looking at the possibilities of offloading a 20 per cent stake in a initial public offer in November to raise $ 200-250 million, Mr B.K. Modi, Chairman of MCorp, the entity that owns a 51 per cent stake in Spice Telecom, said. The company has been valued by Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley at $ 1 billion and “we are considering to offload 20 per cent to raise 200-250 million dollar”. Spice Telecom, a mobile service provider in Karnataka and Punjab, offloaded 49 per cent to Telekom Malaysia in early March.
— PTI

RIL project
New Delhi, May 16
Reliance Industries has awarded a $400 million contract to engineering company Aker Kavaerner for supply of subsea production system for phase I of its $3.3 billion D-6 deep-water gas field development. Aker Kvaerner will deliver a complete subsea system, including trees, manifolds, power cables and steel-tube umbilicals.
— PTI